Australia's tour of South Africa: Proteas' Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers shape up as key players

Fresh after dismantling England in the home Ashes series, Australia is preparing to take on the world's number-one Test team in South Africa.

Australia's tour of South Africa

First Test: February 12-16 at Centurion

Second Test: February 20-24 in Port Elizabeth

Third Test: March 1-5 in Cape Town

South Africa's rise to world number one status has come in the midst of Australia's transitional period, and was effectively rubber-stamped with two Test series wins Down Under in 2008/09 and 2012.

But even in a new era of Proteas dominance, Australia's unbeaten record in the Republic remains intact since South Africa's re-admission to world cricket in the early 1990s.

Australia's record against South Africa

Overall: 19 wins, 7 draws, 9 losses.

In South Africa: 11 wins, 1 draw, 5 losses.

Following South Africa's first ever series win in Australia in 2009, Australia responded with a 2-1 win in the follow-up tour. The most recent tour of South Africa ended in a 1-1 draw over two Tests.

Before those series, Australia enjoyed almost total dominance over their African rivals. South Africa will be champing at the bit to record its first home series win over Australia since re-admission.

But following a stunning revival in the recent Ashes series after a miserable 2013, Australia could continue its momentum in similar conditions in South Africa, maintaining both its away record against the Proteas and the momentum towards a return to Test cricket's top ranking.

Take a look at who South Africa will look to for key performances against Australia.

Bowling:

Batting:

Mitchell Johnson may be hot property following his resurgence against England, but Dale Steyn is still the world's top-ranked bowler and entirely on merit.

Steyn may not be as quick as Johnson in his pomp, but the boy from Phalaborwa regularly sends them down between 140 and 150kph. But it is the marriage between pace and lethal swing that makes Steyn cricket's premier quick.

The South African conducts his deliveries like a lightning-paced puppeteer, swinging away from both right and left-handers, and generating reverse swing with the old ball, even on sub-continental pitches.

That technique has seen him earn the best bowling strike-rate of all time in Test cricket (currently 42.16) for bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 10,000 deliveries.

Steyn announced himself to Australian audiences with a 10-wicket haul at the MCG, coupled with his 76 alongside JP Duminy to rescue the second Test and propel South Africa to a first series win Down Under in 2008/09.

In his groove, Steyn is unstoppable, as Pakistan recently found out when the paceman took innings figures of 6 for 8 to dismiss the visitors for 49 all out in 2013.

He has also proved his worth on Indian pitches, taking 5 for 23 in eight overs as India wilted for 76 all out in Ahmedabad in 2008.

Battling a rib injury and rested for five weeks prior to Australia's tour, Proteas bowling coach Allan Donald has warned the tourists that Steyn will be "fit and firing" for the upcoming series.

Vernon Philander

Vernon Philander's Test record

Bowling:

Wickets: 105, average 18.00

Best: 6 for 44 against New Zealand in Hamilton

Five-fors: 9

10-wicket hauls: 2

Batting:

Runs: 469, average 23.45

Best: 74 against Pakistan at Centurion

50s: 3

Catches: 5

Has any South African enjoyed a better debut in Test cricket than Vernon Philander? Australia knows all too well how good the stocky paceman can be when he took 5 for 15 in his first Test innings, skittling Australia for 47 all out in Cape Town in 2011.

Following his debut, Philander became only the fifth player in history to take a five-for in an innings in each of his first three Tests, before reaching 50 wickets inside seven Tests (the second fastest ever to do so).

Australia is not the only team to have suffered at Philander's hands, with New Zealand also faltering for 45 all out in 2013, as the paceman chalked up first-innings figures of 5 for 7.

Philander's game is less about pace and all about unerring placement, seaming and swinging the ball away from the the batsmen, and relentlessly pitching the ball on the stumps over long periods of play.

Philander's nine five-wicket hauls and two 10-wicket performances have seen him rocket up the Test bowling rankings, while also chipping in with the bat lower down the order, where he has picked up three Test fifties at an average of 23.45.

Graeme Smith's Test record

Batting:

South Africa's steady rise to the summit of Test cricket has come under the hard-as-nails, watchful leadership of opener Graeme Smith.

Smith has instilled an almost unshakeable confidence in his charges - a far cry from the talented but mentally fragile Proteas sides of the 1990s - and his leadership has seen the Proteas go unbeaten in Test series away from home since 2006.

One the world's best openers with a record that compares favourably to Matthew Hayden, 'Biff' leads his team from the front with an effective if somewhat inelegant style, bludgeoning anything too far down the off-side or too close to his pads.

The innings that summed up the new confidence and pride in South African cricket post-Hansie Cronje came against Australia at the WACA in 2008, when Smith set the platform for a record run chase of 414 with a gutsy, studious century.

The broad-shouldered colossus has borne the weight of national captaincy since the age of 22 - South Africa's youngest-ever captain - and over the years has matched his forthright style and persona with the nuances of successful captaincy.

While he has copped criticism for his captaincy style at times - often seen as overly conservative - Smith's tenure has instilled in his side a refusal to lose, summed up by his (ultimately unsuccessful) broken-fingered resistance against Johnson at the SCG in 2009, or Faf du Plessis' watchful knock to save the Adelaide Test in 2012.

Averaging a touch under 50, Smith has so far amassed 27 centuries and 38 fifties in Test cricket, while taking 164 catches, mostly as an assured first-slip fielder.

Hashim Amla's Test record

Batting:

Australia preyed on a rattled English batting line-up throughout the home Ashes series, but will come up against a very different obstacle in Hashim Amla.

The unshakeable number three is as technically perfect as batsmen come. Infamously mentioned as susceptible to sledging in Australia's ill-fated 'dossier' ahead of the 2012 series, Amla is impervious to banter and distractions.

Once he gets into his zone, there is no stopping 'Hash' with the bat. Brutal on the leg side - particularly square of the wicket - Amla is just as dangerous on the off-side with an exquisite armoury of drives at his disposal.

His wristy technique is a fitting homage to his Indian heritage (his grandparents migrated to South Africa from Gujarat), and he scores at a steady pace in Test cricket.

Ultimately, Amla is an extremely consistent performer, racking up Test centuries (20) at an average of 51.34.

With an immediately recognisable beard and sunhat, he was the first South African in the history of Test cricket to hit a triple-century, smashing England's bowlers for an unbeaten 311 at the Oval in 2012.

Amla is also a devout Muslim who specifically requests to have alcohol sponsors removed from his playing gear.

An elegant driver of the ball, de Villiers is also one of the best batsmen at combating spin his country has ever produced. He has some of the best footwork in the game, and is also one of the quickest between the wickets.

Having already played 89 Tests at the relatively youthful age of 30, AB's remarkable batting record of just under 7000 runs (averaging 51.71) includes 17 centuries and 34 half-tons.

He has also shown tremendous batting adaptability in all forms of the game, slotting seamlessly into South Africa's Twenty20 and ODI sides with improvised shot selection and powerful hitting.

De Villiers has recently taken up wicket-keeping duties following the retirement of Mark Boucher. It was initially a source of worry for Proteas selectors, as the move meant South Africa would sacrifice one of its best outfielders for the sake of keeping.

But de Villiers has steadily grown into the wicketkeeper-batsman role, recently equalling the record for most dismissals in a Test match (11 against Pakistan).

He also scored an unbeaten 103 in the same match, making him the first keeper to score a century and claim 10 dismissals in a Test.

How will South Africa replace Kallis?

The biggest chink in South Africa's armour comes in the hole it has to fill following Jacques Kallis's retirement from Test cricket.

As one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, Kallis provided the foundation of South Africa's batting as well as key depth to its bowling ranks.

Now shorn of his services, South Africa has reshuffled its batting line-up, bringing du Plessis up from number six to four, and may have to decide between choosing Ryan McLaren or Wayne Parnell as bowling all-rounders.

Both McLaren and Parnell are inexperienced in the longer form of the game, having played just one and three Tests respectively. Neither had remarkable bowling debuts nor truly shone with the bat, so a question mark hangs over the lower-order for the time being.

Putting Kallis's batting prowess aside, his other telling contribution for South Africa was chipping in with bowling spells of five to 10 overs, allowing the strike bowlers to rest up while maintaining the Proteas' relentless pace barrage against opposition.

Now the burden of relieving the pacemen falls to left-arm orthodox spinner Robin Peterson. While his useful off-breaks and placement has improved over the years, Peterson remains in the long queue of 'good but not great' South African spinners.

Australia will look to see off Steyn, Philander and Morne Morkel, before unleashing an attack on Peterson and deputy spinner Duminy.

It will provide food for thought for captain Smith, who may become more hesitant to play spinners as the series wears on, resulting in a more predictable attack.